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Lesson: A Journey Through New Amsterdam to New York

In this teacher-created lesson students examine three worlds coming together in lower Manhattan with the establishment of the Ft. New Amsterdam settlement. When Europeans arrived in what is current-day lower Manhattan, native peoples already inhabited the area. Over time, enslaved - and later free - Africans, along with the Europeans and Native Americans all contributed to the area's development. Students will explore the inhabitants and their interactions with the landscape as well as with each other. Lesson strategies include research, summarizing, use of technology to display and share information and developing a virtual tour.